March 28th, 2002
Her Excellency María Teresa García Segovia
Ambassador for Mexico
45 O'Connor Street, suite 1500
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 1A4
Your Excellency:
On behalf of the Social Justice Committee, I am writing to express my serious concern with regard to the very
alarming situation in the Montes Azules Integral Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas.
The statements of high government officials, particularly those of Secretary Lichtinger and of Lic. Campillo
García of PROFEPA, appear to indicate that the federal government is planning and preparing a security
forces operation to evict the communities that have settled within the Reserve. Our immediate and urgent cause of
concern is the likelihood that this intrinsically violent measure would lead to injuries and bloodshed. In
addition, as we believe that Commissioner Luis Alvarez has already stated, such a step would certainly represent a
major step backwards in the faltering peace process in Chiapas.
Furthermore, in the existing situation in which there has been no proper consultation process let alone agreement
with the affected indigenous peoples, the removal of the communities would be in contradiction to Mexico's
international obligations under ILO Covenant 169. It would cause serious violations of the social and economic
rights of these indigenous campesinos, who would lose their homes, farms, and livelihoods.
We would like to ask you to convey to the Mexican government our urgent request that they under no circumstances
attempt a forcible removal of the indigenous communities who have settled in and around the Montes Azules Integral
Biosphere Reserve.
We would also like to ask the Mexican government to give full consideration to the very positive proposal that it
be the indigenous communities themselves who take over complete responsibility for the management and conservation
of the forests of Montes Azules. (In this connection we would respectfully call to your attention the fact that the
manner in which the Reserves has been administered has never respected the existing provisions for community
participation that are part of the General Law of Equilibrium and Environmental Protection.)
Finally, we would request you to remind the Mexican government of the continued need for the San Andres Accords on
Indigenous Rights and Culture to be incorporated into the Mexican Constitution and into national law on the basis
of the COCOPA proposal. In our humble opinion, full compliance with the San Andres Accords is an indispensable
precondition for the resolution of social conflicts in Chiapas.
At this Easter–time, we would like to send you our good wishes, and once more to express our hope that the
Mexican government will choose the path that leads to a true peace in Chiapas, a path that is built on respect for
the totality of human rights and on the espousal of a form of environmental protection that is based on the needs
of local communities and the well–being of the Mexican people – rather than on the interests of
potential investors and foreign researchers.
Sincerely,
Karen Rothschild
